meli
  | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈme.li/ (listen) |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Widespread (82% ↘ ) 2022: Widespread (89%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1933 |
meli is a widespread content word relating to femininity. It is coordinate with mije for masculinity and tonsi for non-binary genders.
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The word meli is derived from Tok Pisin meri, meaning "woman, wife", itself from the feminine English name Mary.[1]
Semantic space[edit | edit source]
The semantic space of meli includes femininity and feminine people, such as woman and girls, be them cisgender or transgender. It may refer to one's wife, as in meli mi.
Speakers adherent to gendern't philosophy reject using the word meli by virtue of avoiding gender word altogether.
pu[edit | edit source]
In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines meli as:
NOUN woman, female, feminine person; wife
ku[edit | edit source]
For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as meli:
female5, lady4, woman4, girl3, wife2, cisgender woman2, transgender woman2, ma’am2
sitelen pona[edit | edit source]
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The sitelen pona glyph for meli represents a person with long hair or wearing a hijab. An alternate glyph variant is derived from the planetery gender symbol for Venus.
sitelen sitelen[edit | edit source]
The sitelen sitelen glyph for meli is derived from the Early Pagan and Christian symbol for woman, in the shape of a triangle with a line on top.[2][3] The symbol is placed inside a circle and on top of a "pedestal", similarly to other gender glyphs.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Word Origins. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Toki Pona.
- ↑ Gabel, Jonathan (2012). "sitelen sitelen acknowledgements and etymology". Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ↑ Koch, Rudolph (1955). The book of signs, which contains all manner of symbols used from the earliest times to the Middle Ages by primitive peoples and early Christians. Dover Books. ISBN 978-7-240-01716-6. p. 9.